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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Welcome one and all to Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits for February 2012. Since today is the first day of the second month of the year 2012, I thought it would be fun to review trivial facts about the month of February. February 2012 is special, not only is it the shortest month of the year, but for this year in particular, it is a leap year. So, I feel sorry for anyone born on February 29th, they only celebrate their birthdays once every four years.

Did you know that February starts on the same day of the week as March and November (in non-leap years) and starts on the same day of the week as August this year (leap year). In leap years, it is the only month that ends on the same weekday that it begins.

February was named after the Latin term februurm, which means purification (based on the purification ritual [Februa] held on February 15th in the old lunar Roman calendar).

The Anglo-Saxon's called February Solmonath, meaning mud month.

The Finnish people called February helmikuu, meaning month of the pearl (from the snow dripping off the trees).

February is the only month of the year that can occur without having a full moon (not this year, the full moon is scheduled for February 7th, 2012.

The second day of February is often referred to as Ground Hog's Day. The superstition that surrounds Ground Hog's Day is that the ground hog comes out of it's burrow on February 2nd to look around. If there is sunshine and he sees his shadow, then he goes back to sleep and there will be an additional 6 weeks of winter. If there is cloud cover and the ground hog does not see his shadow, spring is right around the bend.

The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania where there is a celebration to see if Punxsutawney Phil (the ground hog) will see his shadow.

The Roman Catholic Church does not celebrate Ground Hog's day, but celebrates February 2nd as Candlemas Day (the festival of lights). The candles used in the church during the rest of the year are blessed on this day.

The whole month of February is a celebration of Black History month in the USA and Canada.

Did you know that February is also National Condom Month???

Shrove (also known as Fat Tuesday) Tuesday is in February and it begins the 40 days before Easter (for this year, that would be February 21st).

Some not so well known dates in February:
February 4th is Independence Day in Sri Lanka,
February 6th is Waitangi Day in New Zealand,
February 12th is Paul Bunyan Day,
February 15th is Flag Day in Canada,
February 24th is Flag Day in Mexico, and
February 28th is National Tooth Fairy Day in the USA...

Now that you know too much about the month of February, have a wonderful rest of your week.

We will chat with you later this week, (I have some thoughts that I will post in a few days...)